City Buying Land Around Midway Airport

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 2, 2011 2:50PM

City Council's Aviation Committee approved an ordinance yesterday allowing the city to buy property around Midway Airport to establish a "runway protection zone" around the World's Busiest Square Mile.

The properties slated for purchase by the city are available for view here.

The City has negotiated with the property owners before, during the privatization discussions for Midway that never happened. Deputy Aviation Commissioner Erin O’Donnell, who's in charge of Midway, said FAA regulations have changed since Midway's 1927 opening that require "airports to acquire properties located within the runway protection zone.”

Six years ago a Southwest Airlines flight overran a runway at Midway and went into traffic, killing a six-year-old boy. If the city and the property owners can't agree on a price for their properties, the Emanuel administration will buy the properties for a price determined under eminent domain.